The Lower School at Sevenoaks LS_book_single_pages | Page 17

The focus of English in the Lower School is
to promote a love of reading and to continue
to develop skills of writing, listening and
speaking.
During the two years all pupils will read a
wide range of books including novels, plays
and poetry. We aim to read both modern and
more classic texts and to help all students
to develop their own taste in reading. Most
teaching is done through discussion and
creative activities. In this way pupils rapidly
become confident in handling complex and
challenging material.
In addition to reading and writing we
undertake a considerable amount of oral
work. Most lessons will involve discussion
at some stage. However, we also teach
formal skills of presentation and speaking in
public. This can build confidence, and many
examinations now demand a spoken element
both in secondary and tertiary education.
Written work seeks to build on the
literacy teaching that pupils have already
experienced. We set a wide range of different
writing tasks which seek to enforce and
develop literacy, creative and thinking skills.
Much literature teaching is done through
creative writing. While all pupils will study a
Shakespeare play this will be experienced
through Drama activities and creative
writing. Writing stories and poems remains
at the heart of Lower School teaching, not
simply because students enjoy it so much
but because it is by playing with ideas and
language that pupils become at ease with
the written word. However, we also start to
introduce ideas of formal essay writing and
teach analytical and organisational skills.
the lower SCHOOL | AT SEVENOAKS
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